Definitely worth some of the interesting tidbits on which I was, well, minimally informed: the misinformation debacle that David Brooks perpetuated with his book Bobos in Paradise, for example, and the first chapter that gives context to the criticism levied by the anti-Federalists on the Constitution. Other sections are dated in their pertinence because many of the prophecies simply came to pass, but the scathing wit/mordant sassiness keep the book afloat. Granted it reads like a collection of

I have the feeling that Chris Lehmann started writing this book with the intention of a) Enjoying a good laugh at the bad taste of the rich and famous (an the wannabee groupies), and b) Informing the public of the very real and serious unfair advantages the wealthy of America enjoy over the rest of us. Or something like that. However, what he delivered with a disorganized package of personal gripes, once-over-lightly social analysis, and many, many run on sentences. I bought this book, for the d...

Well, that was depressing. This is a collection of short essays on current events that come across as angry, hyper-literate rants (a popular format for modern political writers who – for whatever reason – are disinclined toward long-form journalism). Successful efforts are often more funny than not; this book isn’t merely unfunny – it’s dyspeptic.I should be clear on this point: Chris Lehmann hits the bulls-eye on a pretty regular basis. He’s clearly a smart guy with a great vocabulary and excel...

Much ranting, little analysis. Like listening to your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.

Funny where it needs to be, profane where it needs to be, insightful and smart pretty much on every page, even where it gets occasionally redundant. Most enjoyed the chapters on Wired, David Brooks, the Prosperity Gospel, Ayn Rand, the iPad, Frank Gerhy. The wonkier stuff, well, that's always a trudge for me. This is one of those books where you should feel free to skip around and find a groove.

I *did* like it. I know, I know...2-stars. I liked it, but it doesn't date well. This may have been very eye-opening in 2010, but having read it in 2017, you'd have to have been living in a bubble for the past couple years to not consider the entirety Captain Obvious fodder.

I do strongly recommend about 2/3 of this book (I definitely skipped the chapters about things/people I hadn't heard of...guess I'm not rich enough [yet]). Mostly it was really interesting to read Lehmann's analysis of the ways the Democratic Party has become a party of the rich, leaving behind its commitment to the working poor. I enjoyed his writing (and his criticism of Malcolm Gladwell) very much.

He's not wrong, and some aspects of this book are illuminating. The problems are twofold: 1. Lehmann picked his topics with a shallowness of vision that leads them to feel tremendously dated. This book is absolutely an artifact of 2011, and doesn't have a lot of virtues reading in 2017. To me, this suggests a lack of deep analysis of the kind of rich people things that are, well, more timeless. That is, there's a way to use the particularities of the 2010/2011 scene to make deeper and more perma...

Chris Lehman is angry. Sometimes he is SO angry, his sentences are a little hard to follow, but once you see what he is angry about, you can understand. He was there and paying attention during the Real Estate Meltdown when I was blithely listening to This American Life and thinking I had an understanding of things.MAN. I got to get a handle on 20th century history one of these days.For instance, the bit about Reagan and his dumb Star Wars program serving as a dispersal of funds in much the same...

I admit that I Googled "rich people book."The author's vocabulary is unbelievable. How Chris Lehmann manages to wrangle all these big words into twenty six beautifully flowing essays is remarkable. The book is impossible to put down, even when you disagree.The general tone is a bit pompous, sometimes annoyingly so, but his critiques are deeply thought provoking. And, most importantly, refreshing. He leaves no stone unturned. As I picked through these bundles of words, I discovered new ways to lo...

Witty bordering on pretentious cultural criticism, focused on skewering the things that matter most to terrible people on the Upper East Side. Chris Lehmann is a fantastic writer nonetheless. Will update when I finish.

I was walking on Pearl Street in Boulder, Co and saw a book store called Left Hand Books, an all-volunteer, not-for-profit, progressive bookstore providing access to alternative viewpoints and difficult-to-obtain sources of information. This description grabbed my attention so I strolled inside and could not believe what I saw - better than anything I experienced in that liberal oasis on Long Island Sound! After perusing the stock I stumbled onto the "just released display table" and picked up t...

Annemarie Cox’s husband writing about rich people in a snarky tone should be exactly up my alley, right? Nope.

Very interesting book, which provides a scathing look as to how regardless of political affiliation, the government has let corporations have a huge impact on our governmental institutions and how that has impeded our democracy. Lehmann makes his points by analyzing everything from academia to the Supreme Court to the New York Times. As you can see, there is plenty of blame to go around. I highly recommend this book. It’s short but fairly dense.

It took a lot of sittings to make my way through this book. Not because of anything with the book itself--it's absolutely brilliant--but because it made me so god damn agry everything from the Supreme Court to Ayn Rand's influence (I already hated that &%^*# but still) to the ideas of the free market and meritocracy . . . I honestly believe that everyone should read this book. Although it's pre-OWS, it really nails down the fundamental issues at play in society today in terms of income inequalit...

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this up, but this was not it, and I'm still disappointed by it. Chris Lehmann is sarcastic and scathing throughout, which is not a bad thing, especially given the subject matter. The subject matter, of course, being the predator class, which Lehmann tears into in a series of 29 (or 30, if you count the conclusion) short essays. These range from broad topics, like the free markets and the stock markets, to obscurely specific topics - despite the fac...

I give 3 stars to the concept of this book and a few well-made points, but 2 for my total lack of enjoyment while reading it. For someone who is criticizing the plutocracy, his sentences are unnecessarily complicated, and his use of vocabulary and phrases makes me feel likes he's trying to prove how smart he is. (I do believe he is very smart, but it just comes across as pompous.) At one point he criticizes Ayn Rand's characters for being "swathed in layers of obscurantist jargon," but I feel li...

Lehman is obviously very smart. He examines several issues that have relevancy to class conflict but are denied because of our society's refusal to acknowledge our class divisions. I found many of his arguments compelling but he did not offer a complete picture of the forces the very wealthy exert upon our political and social environment. I've been reading Jane Mayer's Dark Money which provides that picture. I also was a little annoyed with Lehmann's hifalutin language (in much the same way I g...

This book was interesting for me because I fundamentally agree with many of the author's observations, but felt frustrated that his essays rarely moved beyond observation and criticism to what I would call analysis. At one point, I found myself thinking "Damn, he really hates rich people!" I was looking for more insight than vitriol and didn't feel like the book delivered. As others have noted, Lehmann is clearly a very smart guy who writes well. If I'd come to his book with a more accurate sens...

A fun book that’s good for the soul.